XML vs. HTML and EDI
XML vs. HTML
- HTML is a single DTD; XML can be used with any conforming DTD, (HTML 4.0 is not a conforming DTD)
- HTML is designed for presentation of documents, not data; XML describes structured data, with no implied formatting
- Provision for legacy documents; many, though not all, HTML documents can be read by XML browsers
- HTML documents may include ‘data islands’ of XML
XML vs. EDI
- EDI formal, inflexible rules vs. XML self-defined schemas
- EDI monolithic (large required data sets) vs. XML flexibility (‘do simple things simply’)